Free Guitar & Cello Recitals Feb. 15 & 27 Arts Center

Mattie Kelly Arts Center

2/10/2014 - The Mattie Kelly Arts Center will host two free recitals by professional musicians in February. Seating at both events is limited and donations will be accepted at the door.

CLASSICAL GUITAR RECITAL - February 15, 2014

Tyler Recital Hall, Mattie Kelly Arts Center

Heralded by The New York Times for his “effortless virtuosity with intelligence and good taste,” by The Tallahassee Democrat for his “sweet, pure sound, technique to burn and strong sense of musical and poetic phrasing,” classical guitarist Stephen Robinson will appear Saturday, February 15 at 7:30 p.m. in a free recital at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville in the Tyler Recital Hall. Seating is limited. Donations will be accepted at the door for this free event, which is sponsored by the college’s Humanities, Fine & Performing Arts Division.

A professor of guitar at Stetson University, Stephen Robinson tours extensively as a recitalist, chamber musician and orchestral soloist. He has appeared as guest soloist with orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestras, and conducts master classes at leading musical institutions and festivals worldwide.

His recordings for Clear Note Records, Centaur Records and Lakeside Records have received unanimous critical acclaim. Of his disc, “Stephen Robinson,” Munich’s Fonoforum states, “A guitarist of the first order . . . Robinson fills the melodic lines with a great individual emotion. Technically, the guitarist is at the top level: his scales are light and clean, his chords are clear as glass.” Soundboard’s Richard Long writes, “… To put it simply, he plays beautiful music, and he plays it beautifully.”

A top prizewinner in five major international competitions, including the XXIII Concours International de Guitare in Paris and the VI Concurso Internacional de Guitarra in Venezuela, Robinson is an alumnus of the distinguished Affiliate Artists Touring roster and a member of the State of Florida Touring Program. He has received numerous awards, fellowships and grants, including two National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Solo Recitalists Awards, an NEA Recording Award, a Fulbright Fellowship for Performance and Research in Music to Canada, and more.

A native of New York, Stephen Robinson began his guitar studies with Bruce Holzman at Florida State University, and worked closely with Andrés Segovia, who called him “a magnificent guitarist, one of the most brilliant guitarists of our times.” After pursuing graduate work at the Yale School of Music, Florida State University awarded Robinson the first Doctor of Music Degree in Guitar Performance. He is a Professor of Music at Stetson University in Florida, where he is the founding director of the Guitar Program (since 1983). For information see www.stephenrobinsonguitar.com.

CELLO RECITAL - February 27, 2014

Tyler Recital Hall, Mattie Kelly Arts Center

Award-winning cellist Boyan Bonev, a music instructor at the University of West Florida and a member of the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, will perform in recital on Thursday, February 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Tyler Recital Hall at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center on the Niceville campus of Northwest Florida State College. Bonev will present a program of Bach, Cassado and Christoskov. The recital is free of charge with donations accepted at the door.

Bonev is a native of Bulgaria who holds a Doctor of Music degree from the Florida State University and is an active performer of solo and chamber music. He was featured as a soloist of the Florida Lakes Symphony Orchestra and the Stara Zagora Symphony Orchestra, and has performed at Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall.

Bonev is a prize winner from the Bulgarian National Competition for Singers and Instrumentalists, and the International Competition "Music and Earth" and performs as a member of the Tallahassee, Pensacola, Mobile, Florida Lakes, and Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestras. He is also a music instructor, teaching cello and double bass, at the University of West Florida and Pensacola State College.

Bonev holds Doctor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Florida State University, and Bachelor of Music degree from the National Music Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria. He has performed in a number of prestigious music festivals and conferences in Europe and USA such as College Music Society Southern Regional Conference and Florida Music Educators' Association Conference in Tampa, FL, “Varga Celebration” in Greensboro, NC, "Seven Days of Opening Nights" and Festival of New Music in Tallahassee, FL, “Musica Nova” and "New Bulgarian Music" in Sofia, Bulgaria, “Varna Summer” in Varna, Bulgaria, and "March Music Days" in Rousse, Bulgaria.,

Prior to his appointment at UWF and Pensacola State College, Bonev taught cello and double bass at the Albany State University and Darton College. He is on the faculty of the Florida State University Summer Music Camps and taught cello and chamber music as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the Florida State University.

The Mattie Kelly Arts Center is located on the eastern edge of the Niceville campus of Northwest Florida State College at 100 College Boulevard and is easily accessible from State Hwy. 285, Hwy. 85 and the new Mid-Bay Bridge connector road (Exit onto Hwy 285 from the connector) or Interstate 10. The Tyler Recital Hall is located in the Music Wing of the fine and performing arts complex, adjacent to the Seven Dancers Sculpture circus and the mainstage theater. For more information, contact the NWF State College Fine & Performing Arts Division office at (850) 729-5382 or the center’s website at www.MattieKellyArtsCenter.org.